Harvest Days, Doodle Days

For fun I am doing Mountain Mermaid Studio’s Doodle Days. I love it because it takes hardly any time and it allows me to reflect on the highlights of a day, at the end of the day. She provides the templates for us to draw within. Printing them out on HP premium presentation paper is a good support for the Caran d’Ache luminance pencils that I have mostly used in these first few days of the project. Starting to post early in the month, I’m adding the pages till the end.

Kathleen O’Brien, Doodles Days August 2015_01

Kathleen O’Brien, Doodles Days August 2015_02

Kathleen O’Brien, Doodles Days August 2015_03

That’s not me on the bicycle August 8, as you were probably wondering (ha, ha) but my son, who I am so proud to report  completed the Celestial Seasonings 5th Annual B Strong Ride, a Celebration of Survivorship yesterday in Boulder County. He rode from Celestial Seasonings up to Ward in the high country in 2 1/2 hours without stopping. Then all the way down through Lyons and back to Celestial with 4 1/2 moving hours, the 69 mile mountain loop.

Kathleen O’Brien, Doodles Days August 2015_04

I am going to use this post to keep adding the Doodle pages. Sadly, there was a second drawing of the big bomb, but happily on this day, August 13 we are celebrating the end of World War II.

Kathleen O’Brien, Doodles Days August 2015_05

Kathleen O’Brien, Doodles Days August 2015_06

Kathleen O’Brien, Doodles Days August 2015_07

Kathleen O’Brien, Doodles Days August 2015_08

Kathleen O’Brien, Doodles Days August 2015_09

Kathleen O’Brien, Doodles Days August 2015_10

These days, much of my time involves preserving the fecund gifts from the gracious garden. My best guess is, so far about 40 pounds of tomatoes with a bunch of  quarts canned. I always have a bead project or collage going when I need to sit for a while. I had an idea to combine chopped parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme with pink salt to dry into herb salt. There’s a new herb I’m trying, celery herb, which you dry and use when you don’t have celery, it is so practical. There is so much basil, that after getting added to the tomato sauce, I took the easy way out by drying some in the dehydrator.

Kathleen O’Brien, big Harvest explosion

Next comes Making Flowers Essences with the class, and later,  figs. I must learn how to make fig newtons.